Care of any kind—compassion, generosity, communication, reconciliation, service, ministry, teaching, giving—begins with and is nourished by self-care. Or in the words of Charlie Parker, “If it ain’t in you it can’t come out of your horn.” Care begins with the power…

It is blueberry pancake Sunday. In the kitchen, the young mother works under a deadline and a promise; today before church, blueberry pancakes for her two sons, their favorite breakfast in the whole wide world. The two boys, aged 5 and 7, are…

I spent last Wednesday with an animated group of teachers—St. Augustine’s in Vancouver, BC. Their retreat, before a new school year. Our topic, an invitation to create sanctuary, allowing us to honor habits that sustain our wellbeing. We began the…

For one whole week, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I was without wifi. This is grim. I couldn’t even Google remedies for wifi withdrawal. I am not interested in TV, so was blissfully without the news. Except it’s like going to…

I’m in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with my Father, my son Zach, my brothers and their sons. It’s an all boy vacation summit—10 of us—time to impart wisdom to the young men. Now we need to remember what we wanted to…

Today, I’m in New Mexico, in rare air, one and a half miles higher than my garden on Vashon Island. This morning I preached at United Church of Angel Fire. Our text is from John’s Gospel. Our topic is bread…

Friday night I went to church. I usually don’t take Kleenex to church. Turns out I needed it. The congregation of receptive and appreciative islanders gathered at the Vashon Theater. Our opening hymn, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” brought smiles…

“I have never been lost,” Daniel Boone once said about exploring remote areas. “But I will admit to being confused for several weeks.” That’ll preach. And I will admit to the same. My confusion was exaggerated this past week (during our serious heat…

A father knocks on his son’s bedroom door. "Jaime," he says, "wake up!" "I don’t want to get up, Papa," Jaime answers. “You need to get up,” his father shouts, "you have to go to school." “I don’t want to…

I am claustrophobic. I am a parent. So, watching the rescue of the boys from the Tham Luang cave, in what was called an “impossible mission,” tugged at every corner of my heart. But this is a very, very good…

Author, humorist, inspirational speaker, dad, ordained minister, golf addict, and smitten by French wine. He lives on Vashon Island, near Seattle. His work has been featured on The Hallmark Channel, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He divides his time between designing sanctuary gardens and ... Read more.

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